Like so many gadget geeks, I am fickle. I fall in love--a sucker for sharp curves that gleam--get bored, then quickly move on to the next new thing.

The Kindle was different. I disliked almost everything about Amazon's handheld digital reader from the moment I saw it. But eight months into our relationship, I've found its hidden charms. My antipathy has flowered into something. Could it be a pure and lasting gadget love?

At first, I hated that the control buttons made it too easy to inadvertently page forward, backward or--if you hit the Back button--somewhere else entirely. I didn't like...